Secrets
by SomeCoolName
Summary: 'Tony Stark has always been a big fan of investigations and mysteries. Added to this, his immeasurable need to know everything, let's be honest, he is not the best friend you could dream of.' - OS


Note : Hi everyone! Here's my first OS in english - which is not my first language so please, be nice ;)  
Beta-reader : lovely** JenRiley16**! Thank you so much.  
This story is fluffy, yes; talks about homosexuality, damn yes; needs review, hell yes how di you know?

* * *

Anthony Edward Stark was a good man; billionaire philanthropist who has been dedicating his life to human interests, in a perpetual research of happiness to share. At least, he paid CNN enough to make it look real.

The Avengers, since the attack on New York, had passed from the 'what-the-hell-are-those-freaks' status to the 'International-Super-Hero' status, capital letters guaranteed and hysterical screaming fans included. Of course, Tony didn't mind. The whole world seemed to only spin around correctly when it was speaking of him anyway; questioning the theory of the earth turning around the sun, if you wanted Stark's opinion. Every prize-giving ceremony was the occasion to show himself, escorted by his new colleagues. Every time they were more and more beautiful, more incredible, more famous. It looked like everybody's lips were made to enunciate their names, their feats of arms and their whole lives.

Well, almost. And it was this exact last point that excited the billionaire.

From the outside, on the tabloids or fans' blogs in need of salacious details, the Avenger's lives seemed quite clear and known to all. Unscrupulous journalists had done their research, governments had made public criminal records of many of them, women had posted on disreputable websites videos of their prowess with Tony Stark. The Avengers were now world famous, as well as Clint Barton, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner and Tony Stark. But for the billionaire's delight, there was always something left to discover.

The engineer had always been a big Sherlock Holmes fan, investigations and mysteries. Added to this, his immeasurable need to know everything, let's be honest, he was not the best friend you could dream of.

The first time he let his sick curiosity override his loyal friendship, he was leaning against the bar during a party he organized, accompanying Clint in a drinking game that he started himself. The bottle of whiskey was almost finished when Natasha came to wish them goodnight, before disappearing, her and her beautiful indecent black dress. Both men watched her for a long time before Clint almost fainted, his voice hoarse, full of desire - and full of drinks also:

« She's perfect. »

« Damn you're right » Stark answered, already sighing to no longer have the pretty redhead in front of his eyes.

« I think I could stop drinking for her. »

« I'd buy Venice for her. »

« You may have the money Stark, but you will never go as far as me to conquer her heart. »

« Is that a challenge? »

« Nope, I just know it. Trust me, better that way. »

Clint smiled, before he let his eyes narrow at the glass he held to his lips.

A mystery, an investigation, Tony was delighted: he had a secret to crack. Hawkeye had, in absolutely no way, challenged him, he just had made a simple statement and that was the starting point of his research. He knew, because he had already proved it. All night long, Stark traveled many cases retrieved (or stolen) from SHIELD, and he peeled every one of Clint's feats of arms in the years following his meeting with Black Widow. But nothing, not the slightest clue of a shameful secret he was hiding. The day was not up yet and Stark, who was absolutely _not_ ready to give up, decided to read every report of the past three years, including Hawkeye or not. He didn't put anything aside, between the stories of alien discoveries, villains' arrests minutes and unsolved murders.

_Oh_. Murders. _That_ was really shameful. Stark then focused his research on the pretty Russian's enemies, when she was still working for a subsidiary of the former KGB, which had earned her years of unmentionable espionage. Five names, five men killed a few weeks apart, five CIA members who had participated more or less actively in the arrest of the Black Widow. She was interrogated many times, records in support, but she always had been cleared of the murders, which took place on American soil, while all evidence matched to say that she was in Russia or France at that time, as part of a mission.

Five murders, but only one type of execution: a bullet between the eyes that of which could easily make jealous the most accurate...hawk. Smiling every time he knew he was reaching his goal, Tony then confronted the days the CIA members were killed, to Barton's known schedule. As suspected, he found nothing, because there was nothing to declare. He was on American soil, evidenced by some notes, but the rest of the file at this time was dead calm. Officially, the world had nothing to complain about. But on that day, while Tony was putting away - more triumphant than ever - every file he put on the ground during his research, he knew he succeeded.

Clint Barton's secret was that his love for Natasha Romanov was so strong that he killed five members of the CIA, a few weeks after they met, to protect her from a deadly arrest.

* * *

Discovering Steve's secret required no help from SHIELD. The week the Avengers lived was particularly exhausting, made by daily extra long meetings with Fury or Hill. Tony decided, the second the presentation started, that he'd not listen to a single word - he has always hated Powerpoints anyway. He was looking at the room where they were trapped as discreetly as possible, making fun of Maria Hill's seriousness, trying to see Fury's hidden eye through the black fabric, or shamelessly ogling his lover Dr. Banner, while imagining all kinds of obscene stuff they'd dare to do during the night, when something new happened. Steve was keeping before him an open laptop on which he was taking notes, never asking for help from someone who was, you know, born _after_ the invention of Internet. Stark was having fun by just looking at time, trying to decrypt this guy, until he suddenly understood that his interest in new technology was hiding something.

Back in Stark Tower, he decided to follow the captain, by spending more time with him, to even following him without asking permission when the blond was going out in town.

It was barely five in the evening, and of course, even if Stark did not expect to follow the soldier into a strip-tease club, he could only wonder what all these mysteries really meant. The blond went to a posh tea salon on Madison Avenue and seated at an already occupied table. The woman in front of him, a forty-something manicured blond, was truly gorgeous. The billionaire watched the scene from afar, when it struck him: his friend was flirting shamelessly, and to be honest, he was freaking good at it! Their date lasted a little over an hour before Steve returned to the Tower, followed again and again by Stark, quieter than ever.

When Steve went out a second time, Stark was quite excited to learn a little bit more about the woman. But the second meeting took up this time at the Library Hotel, and even if Steve went directly to the bar, Tony knew that choosing a hotel was not innocent. This time, he wanted to come a little bit closer to hear their conversation, but what he saw was not expected. Steve was facing a tall and blond woman yes, but it was not the same as the last time. They turned into a mess of winks, furtive caresses and come-hither looks. Conclusion: Steve, out of the Tower, was a bloody Don Juan. The billionaire stayed this time, long enough to see both of them finish their glasses, till they finally disappeared upstairs in one of the bedrooms.

Two women in a few days apart, and Tony Stark knew that the mystery was far from being completely cracked. So he waited until a Saturday afternoon spent chatting with Steve over tea, to propose him to install a new firewall on his laptop. The soldier gladly accepted and let his friend take care of the computer. In theory. In practice, as soon as Steve left the room, Stark's nose was pressed against the screen, eyes scanning the browser history. The engineer was sure that anyone could learn everything about a man's life by just looking at his history, and this time only confirmed his theory. What he saw delighted him at the highest point, surprised him even more, and made him laugh for days.

Steve Roger's secret was his assiduous frequentation to a classic literature fan dating website, through which he was meeting mature women, telling them about Jane Austen and James Joyce, before slipping naked against them, between satin sheets.

* * *

Of course, Stark knew Natasha's secret, since he was almost the author. This secret took place back at the time the redhead was working for him. Everyday, she was wearing plunging neckline tops, touching as often as possible Stark's arms or back. They finally stopped flirting when Pepper was out of town and Natasha more beautiful than ever. Tony grabbed her into his muscular arms, joined their lips into a crashing kiss, and even though he knew that the young woman was only sleeping with him to access confidential informations, he did not care. What happened next only confirmed that he had acted properly. They never spoke to anyone about it, Stark even agreed to delete the video - well at least, the moments where you could recognize the young woman's face. The Black Widow had often used her charms to get her way, she had no shame, it was part of the job, she was even proud about it, but this time was different.

Natasha Romanov's secret was that she slept with Tony Stark, and she loved it.

* * *

Was still remaining Banner's secret and even if it was very exciting to discover a shameful secret of his lover, it did not look easy. Bruce Banner concealed nothing to Tony Stark. From the beginning of their relationship, he told him everything, not only because he loved him, but also because he desperately needed to speak to someone. From his marriage to Betty, to the poor innocents he killed during his early years affected by an out of control Hulk, he truly told him _everything_. But it was bothering Stark so, damn, much. He did not want a perfect partner; he could never be on a perfect man's level, so he _needed_ to find a little something that would make him whisper « Oh, Bruce... » in a disapproving shake of the head.

He then undertook all types of research, including SHIELD, CIA, FBI, a survey including his ex-wife and ex-colleagues. He inspected thoroughly the World Wide Web looking for a detail that would put him on track. Then, when Bruce left for a few days to traverse Ohio, he took the opportunity to read his browser history. There had to be at least _one_ funny or strange shameful visit; why not even find a porn site! And to be quite honest, it was exactly what wanted to find the billionaire, whose libido seemed to never stand in normality (and even so, what for?). But nothing, he found _nothing_.

_What would Sherlock Holmes do, without being able to talk with a potential culprit or without being able to decrypt him? He would go to his home, of course,_ thought Tony.

So, the engineer left the laboratory where he had been working for a long while already, and headed to the empty apartments of his lover. He knew him well enough, but the idea of opening every drawer, every door, every bag was more enjoyable than the most exotic dances. Singing without a care, he began to search, excavate, even thinking that in an excess of theatricality he could have drawn the outline of his eye with a black pencil, and that he could have been dressed in nothing but white. The maid would come eventually, so, what the hell; he destroyed everything. He turned the bed around, he moved the furniture, opened every drawer he overthrew in a deafening noise, and emptied every closet.

But _nothing_, and damn, this world was truly ugly. Think, he only had to think. Bruce clearly had hidden nothing in a place where he wanted to keep something shameful - Stark even cut the curtains. Then, maybe he was hiding something he was _proud of_. If he was hiding something he was _proud of_, something he _loved_, then he would have put it in a place he _liked_. The library. Stark approached the only piece of furniture he had not dared to touch - too much respect for the books - and slowly, one by one, he began to put them aside.

He finally smiled. A small cloth bag was waiting for him, quietly behind Shrödinger's _What is life. _

« Come to daddy... », he murmured while taking the small bag in his hand.

But he soon realized that the bag was hiding something else. He opened it and dropped into the hollow of his hand what was left to discover. A box. Small. Ridiculous. Soft. With his right hand, he grabbed the lid and in a small 'pop', he opened it.

The ring was thin, pure silver no doubt; it shone at least as strong as Tony's eyes. He closed the box. Replaced it in the bag, put back the books one by one with a necessary slowness, and summoned the maid so she could put everything back in order before the physicist returned from his business trip.

Bruce Banner's secret was that he was about to propose to Tony Stark.

* * *

Anthony Edward Stark was not a good man; selfish billionaire with a morbid curiosity and a stifling need to reduce everything to him. He could only bear to keep close to him people he knew he was holding in the palm of his hand. Mysteries and investigations were only the first step of shameful secrets that remained for him to discover, to secure his dominant position.

Lying in his bed, eyes planted on the ceiling despite the darkness, the engineer thought about the secrets he had striven to discover for years - it had even started with his parents as a child. And if there was one thing he was absolutely sure about, it was that the secrets always ended burst.

Thus, Barton would admit to Natasha what he had done to protect her, when he would finally open his heart. Rogers would confess to his friend his last routine, when he would need Stark's help to get rid of a woman who would have opened her legs before showing him his press card. Then, Natasha would undoubtedly reveal to Barton the silly night when she and Tony discovered each other, skin against skin. Finally, the engineer's secret would be revealed too.

Tony Stark's secret was that he was going to say _yes_ to Bruce Banner.


End file.
